Page 12 - Navigator 2021

‘Since ships are legally obliged to make use of our services, our added value within that process must be unequivocally clear’
DIGITAL ORDERING OF INBOUND PILOTAGE TRIPS A SUCCESS
PROVEN IN PRACTICE
SINCE THE AUTUMN OF 2020, SHIPPING AGENTS HAVE BEEN DIGITALLY ORDERING INBOUND PILOTAGE TRIPS TO BOTH THE PORTS OF ROTTERDAM AND AMSTERDAM NO LATER THAN THREE HOURS BEFORE THE EXPECTED ARRIVAL TIME OF A SHIP (ETA). ONE YEAR FOLLOWING ITS INTRODUCTION, ELCO OSKAM AND GERRIT PEEKSTOK OF LOODSWEZEN ROTTER- DAM-RIJNMOND ARE ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT THE NEW AP- PROACH THAT BENEFITS ALL PARTIES INVOLVED.
In the past, shipping agents would only report vessels that were bound for the port of Rotterdam at least 24 hours in advance via an initial no- tification to the Harbour Master, who would then communicate this to the Dutch Maritime Pilots’ Organisation. Operations Manager Elco Os- kam: “Next, everyone had to wait until the ship in question was within VHF range, on average about 1.5 hours sailing from the pilot station.” Once within range, stakeholders would then first need to consult each other to determine if a ship could actually immediately enter the port or would possibly need to stay at sea for a while, for example to wait for a berth to open up. “At this point, we had usually already reserved a pilot and brought him out to sea though.”
RADICAL CHANGE
The digital ordering of inbound pilotage journeys at least three hours prior to the vessel’s ETA that was introduced in the autumn of 2020 supplementary to the 24-hour notification has radically changed this elusive practice. Oskam: “Through earlier and better insight, our pilo- tage service coordinators are now able to plan much more accurately.” Marketing & Communications Manager Gerrit Peekstok adds: “For 84 percent of all inbound pilotage trips, the ETA remains unchanged after the established three-hour order period. The accuracy is high.”
FAMILIARISATION PERIOD
Of course, everyone had to get used to the new operational approach, including the shipping agents. Dealing with the digital ordering of
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